This short article addresses the question, how to spot and deal with untrue truisms that appear to be true. The tricky bit is that common truisms often guide and reinforce everyday beliefs, behaviour, decisions and actions – including at work. Untrue truisms can prove limiting, unhelpful or damaging. What do you think?

‘Ring a bell and Pavlov’s dog salivates.’ True? Not necessarily. It depends on the context in which the dog hears the bell (Anne Rooney, Psychology – How the World Works, 2019). ‘Brainstorming in a group generates more ideas than individuals generate alone.’ Not necessarily true either. It depends on whether individuals in the group have had opportunity to write down their own ideas separately first (Michael West, Developing Creativity in Organisations, 1997).

We could list many more frequently-proclaimed and widely-accepted truisms here that turn out to be not entirely true. ‘People don’t like change’. Oh, really? Perhaps closer to the truth could be a more qualified statement, ‘Some people don’t like change’ or, as a variation, ‘Most people don’t like having change forced on them’ where the emphasis is definitely more on forced – an implied denial of choice, freedom, influence or control – than on change per se.

The problem here lays in simplistic generalisations, superficial conclusions, clichés that may well sound plausible and convincing on the face of it yet lack validity and soundness. They present an idea of reality with an air of marked confidence, yet which doesn’t correspond with research evidence or lived experience. (Some contemporary politicians came to mind as I wrote that…but I won’t go there). Worse still, we and others may act on untrue-truisms as if they were true.

What can we do as leaders, coaches, OD and trainers to notice, reveal and test hidden, personal-cultural assumptions that are so often masked and disguised as statements of fact? Firstly, listen for words or phrases that signpost a claim is about to follow, e.g. ‘of course, ‘obviously’, ‘clearly’, ‘self-evidently’, ‘everyone knows that’. Secondly, acknowledge that the explicit truth claim represents an implicit belief. Thirdly, open it up for critical exploration and evaluation.

Can I help you develop critical reflective practice?Get in touch! info@nick-wright.com

Well thought Nick - Pavlov conditioned the dog through reward and punishment OR Pavlov was conditioned to derive a theory by the dog is an interesting perspective 😊!

Even I agree on this blind following of so-called management theories, best practice or market practice in business management .. exploring and validating the context first before accepting a Truism is indeed an important success factor in design of organizations and people policies!

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Nick Wright

12/3/2019 04:30:36 am

Thanks Vikram. I wonder what drives 'blind following'. Perhaps it's a combination of time pressures at work and, at times, overwhelming complexity that drive people to grasp at simplistic answers - a bit like fast food - in the hope they may work? I'm reminded of HL Mencken: 'For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, - and wrong.'

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Jean Henry

12/3/2019 02:42:59 pm

This is so funny. Yet, we really do underestimate participant /subject effects on researchers in many cases. :)

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Nick Wright

12/3/2019 02:45:40 pm

Thanks Jean. It made me smile when I saw it too. :) I think the question of who/what effects who/what and how/why is where viewing issues systemically can help. On a different but related point, you may find this short piece interesting..? http://www.nick-wright.com/blog/micro-macro

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Heike Graf

13/3/2019 06:48:06 am

It's always good to change perspective. ;)

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Nick Wright

13/3/2019 06:48:53 am

Hi Heike. Yes, it sometimes changes our sense of what is real and true in a situation and its context.

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Julie Bullen

14/3/2019 04:19:47 am

Fab - has set me up for the day! And I didn't know that brainstorming works best if people have a chance to think first - might also be different for Extraverts and Introverts? - I'm I and would love that chance to think on my own first - but maybe for Es it would be the other way round?

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Nick Wright

14/3/2019 04:25:38 am

Thanks Julie. :) That's a really interesting question and I don't know the answer! One of the main problems of posing a question, statement or issue in a group is the risk of 'group-think'; that is, an unhelpful influence on what each other think and say. This problem can be exaccerbated if there are hierarchical or other relational dynamics in the group that inhibit speaking up or raising divergent ideas. I guess that would apply to extroverts as well as to introverts. I wonder if one way of addressing the extroverted preference could be for people to think alone first, then speak in 2s - allowing the extroverts to process externally - before speaking in the wider group?

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Julie Bullen

14/3/2019 05:42:18 am

I'll try it out! Best.

Nick Wright

14/3/2019 05:42:42 am

Hi Julie. Let me know what happens! :)

Alan Arnett

14/3/2019 10:20:01 am

Hi Julie. Introverts do prefer to think quietly first, but the success of getting everyone to write down their answers first is not really about I vs E. There's a principle in the applied creativity world called extended effort, where it's been known for around 50 years that ideas come in waves. Generalising, when you ask people for ideas the first wave is whatever they already think about the question. That's why it's useful to get them to write those down first - empty the brain :) Once they have run out of those ideas, the next wave is generally weirder because they have to stretch their thinking, and observers often can't see value. In the third wave, people start to connect and combine more to find 'new and useful' solutions. It's not that simple, but it's why I get so frustrated when people do simple experiments, just get wave 1 or 2, and complain the tool doesn't work. Creativity is not a tool - it's a process - and like all processes it works best with training. The best predictor of good ideas when process and preference are included is whether people are trained or not, and whether the facilitator knows how to adapt for introverts and extraverts, explorers and developers, and task focus vs people focus.

Julie Bullen

14/3/2019 10:20:45 am

Thankyou Alan, that's fascinating - personally I find a walk or sleeping on things also brings new ideas, as do many people hence the phrase 'sleep on it' - which may relate to the idea of having several waves...

Nick Skinner

14/3/2019 04:26:24 am

"True wisdom comes when we realise how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us". Of course, if you believe that fool Socrates then you're no better than the rest. ;)

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Nick Wright

14/3/2019 04:26:55 am

Thanks Nick! :)

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Barbara Quesada

14/3/2019 04:27:40 am

My dog would say, “I have successfully conditioned them to let me in the bed when I make the slightest whimper.” #lovemydog #shestheoneincharge

I work with amazing mentors and have done for almost 20 years as I never forget what a privilege it is to to work with clients... I dive deep, rather than do what a lot of coaches do and work on surface areas... we can only take clients as far as we have been ourselves. I go deeper than adressing goals and limiting beliefs so I need to keep deep diving into myself... There is an art, a subtle nuance to powerful coaching and I see all the time coaches promising the world after a few sessions, Decades of self sabotage cannot be reframed within a few sessions...

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Nick Wright

14/3/2019 04:45:54 am

Hi Annie. Thanks for sharing from personal experience. I, too, have had some amazing coaches and mentors over the years. What a difference it can make in terms of personal-professional growth and critical reflective practice. I wonder if, 'we can only take clients as far as we have been ourselves' is a truism that could be challenged? What do you think? I like your emphasis on deep diving. On that theme, you may find these short related pieces interesting?

Both great articles, beautifully written and speak a lot of sense thanks for sharing them and thanks for your response. I think all truisms can be challenged... and I am always open to learn and grow and challenge my beliefs... but at the end of the day I can only be authentic when I share from my experience... as it is real for me.. what I do know is I cant bleed all over my clients which I will do if I dont heal my wounds...

Nick Wright

14/3/2019 05:09:33 am

Thanks for such encouraging feedback, Annie. I guess 'share from my experience' implies a practice that leans towards the mentoring end of the coaching-mentoring spectrum? I like your expression, 'bleed all over my clients' - very graphic!!

Christa-Madhu Einsiedler

14/3/2019 05:00:28 am

Hi Annie Ashdown - couldn't agree more! Sounds like we approach coaching in a similar way. Would love to exchange with you at one point.

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Annie Ashdown

14/3/2019 05:05:36 am

Yes that would be lovely.. lets do that...

Paul Cliff FLPI

14/3/2019 04:47:10 am

Great post Nick. Our role as coaches is to hold up the mirror and help shine a light on assumptions and limiting beliefs. We, of course, have them ourselves also which is why effective coaching supervision is so critical.

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Nick Wright

14/3/2019 04:51:03 am

Thanks Paul. I agree. Learning to notice, be aware of, develop through - and use - the light that is reflected back to us and wider systems from our clients can be a powerful benefit of coaching supervision. You may find this short related piece interesting? http://www.nick-wright.com/blog/use-of-self-in-coaching Let me know what you think?

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Christa-Madhu Einsiedler

14/3/2019 04:52:45 am

Even harder to be aware of I find truisms we have taught ourselves to believe about ourselves "I'm open minded" "I'm a good listener", "I am ..." ...

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Nick Wright

14/3/2019 04:58:34 am

Hi Christa-Madhu. Yes, I agree. I believe this phenomenon links to stories we tell ourselves about ourselves - often stories we have introjected and which, because they appear true to us, are rarely noticed explicitly or questioned. On that theme, you may find these short related pieces - and the comments that followed - interesting?

Yes, I have to remind about this to my son all the time. He often says things like "It's just a fact that XYZ, therefore..." and he goes on into a long explanation, but it's all built on believing that "XYZ is true... And I see lots of YouTube videos or "gurus" saying things like "We all know that..." and they say something that "we all know"; except, at least half of the time I'm thinking "Hmm... some of us might know, some will just have to take your word for it... but many often built entire concepts, programs, etc. on "truisms" that often are not true at all, hence the whole "castle" was built on "sand."

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Nick Wright

14/3/2019 06:54:52 am

Hi E.G. Yes, 'castles built on sand' is a great way of expressing it..!

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CP Rosa Galaz Salazar

14/3/2019 10:23:00 am

I'm agree with both Sebastián and Nick. It Is not possible times to motive the difference.